The Ultimate Mission
by LadyZotalot
Summary: Clark Kent recently learned Batman's secret identity after Robin started patrolling the streets. Despite knowing his secret identity, Clark doesn't feel like he truly knows Bruce. Hopefully, that will change today.


**A/N: **FYI, I made up the quote at the end. It's probably inspired by something but I have no idea what. Sorry for the confusion.

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><p>Clark wasn't afraid. He couldn't be afraid. He had beaten Darkseid to a pulp, bested the warrior queen Maxima, and even told off his dad that one time when he had just turned eighteen and had wanted to tell his best friends Lex and Pete about his heritage. Clark had no right to be afraid now over something so trivial by comparison.<p>

As he looked up to the looming wrought iron gate, his glasses slipped down his nose. Instead of fixing them, he just took them off. His slouched shoulders straightened and squared. He pressed the comm and asked Alfred to kindly let him in.

Clark took the stone steps down into the caverns of the Batcave two at a time and then three at a time until he eventually started floating to the main floor instead of walking down at all.

Diana and Batman (Clark still wasn't used to thinking of him as _Bruce_) were already discussing how to handle the media.

"We can't say nothing, Bruce," Diana's voice was thick with tension, "you're just talking in circles. We have to give them something substantial. They think we're a national security risk!"

Batman didn't give in. "I never said we wouldn't, Wonder Woman. I just want you to understand that the League can never operate to its full potential again now that we've been outed. The public's awareness of our alliance casts new light on every single action we take. It's only been a day since the media found out about the Justice League and," Batman tapped the control panel to the Batcomputer and pulled up a roster, "already over a dozen supervillians have started an arms race. They're preparing to fight with all of us at all times–"

Clark landed his feet a few yards away from his teammates. As his shoes scuffed against the floor, Batman turned and looked to him with piercing eyes. "Uh," Clark coughed, "I'm glad you could have us?"

Batman glared some more; he didn't like being interrupted. Clark blinked away from his glare and looked to Diana desperately.

She sighed and offered him a way out. "Hello, Clark. Bruce and I were just getting started. Bruce is," she glared at Bruce, "so glad that you could make it. Please, dig in to Alfred's cookies. They're delightful."

Clark smiled. He happily crammed cookie after cookie into his mouth; he kept his eyes on his crumb covered plate.

Batman, eventually, gave up on staring at him since he was insistent on looking away. "You came in through the front door," Batman mentioned. It wasn't a question. It should have been.

"Sruy wud eey nuht supost to?" Clark asked.

Diana carefully offered him a glass of milk to wash the cookies all down.

Bruce didn't comment on Clark's full mouth. "You could have used the zeta tube," Batman said slowly.

Clark frowned. "Should I have?"

Bruce didn't answer.

"Listen," Clark set his tray of cookies aside, "I didn't mean to...make you uncomfortable? I thought we told each other our identities because we're going to be more...friendly now."

Bruce scowled.

Clark was, admittedly, somewhat afraid of Batman. Even knowing his name didn't solve that problem at all. Clark watched a sleeping bat draw its wings in closer to its body. "So...what are we planning on doing about our JL situation?"

"Press conference sometime today or tomorrow so that we can take questions," said Diana.

At the same time, Batman declared, "We're going to create a six pronged approach to cover all aspects of reaction from civilian to government to criminal element and–"

"Batman?" a small voice called out.

Batman stopped in the middle of his sentence. He looked up to the top of the stone steps. A young boy hopped down the stairs five at a time until he was in front of the older hero. Despite being otherwise dressed comfortably for bed in dark silk pyjamas, the boy had his face covered by a thick domino mask.

Superman frowned as he realized this must be Batman's still relatively new sidekick Robin (or rather Dick Grayson).

Dick sneezed. He pulled Bruce aside by the edge of his cape and spoke to him in hushed whispers. Clark felt a little guilty about listening in, but, as a reporter, he had a right to give in to his nosy side every now and then. He couldn't deny such a large part of himself like that.

"Bruce," Dick whispered, "I think I messed up."

Batman didn't move to unwrap Dick's fingers from his cape until they began twitching. Batman grabbed a hold of the boy's hand and pulled it into his gloved ones. He frowned then and took of his gloves and, after another frown, pulled down his cowl. He lowered himself to Dick's diminutive height. "What's wrong, Dick?"

Dick, at last, failed at keeping the tears in. "I killed him," Dick admitted.

Clark was taken aback. He bit back hard on his back molars. Diana was less wary, but still concerned. Neither hero spoke up though. They waited to see where this was going.

"Are you sure?" Bruce asked.

Dick nodded. "I poked him and everything."

Batman frowned deeper. Clark was afraid that if he used his micro-vision, he'd find actual caverns cracking around Batman's wrinkles. Batman gave one glance to Diana who was tapping her foot impatiently before staring longingly to the display of criminals hellbent on destroying the League. At last, he turned to Clark.

Subconsciously, Clark rubbed at his chin to knock any piece of cookie away. He wasn't ready to be stared at by Batman again. He could only handle so much of that at once.

Batman seemed to churn between two options in his mind. He could continue arguing with Diana and glaring at Clark, or he could deal with the more important mission at hand.

Bruce pulled Dick up into his arms. "Take off the mask, Dick. That's too itchy for bedtime." As Dick nodded and warily pulled off his domino, his foster father addressed his guests. "We're going to have to postpone this. Diana, start off with your idea. I'll send you both my report on what to do next."

Diana perked up at the idea of finally getting her way, but was suspicious of how easily Batman had been convinced. "Are you sure you want to leave this to me? You seemed passionately against the whole idea before," she said warily.

Bruce started climbing the stone steps back to his mansion. "I can't do it right now. I've got to go find a new hamster that matches the late Mr. Apples before school starts tomorrow," he whispers as he carries the sleepy boy back to bed.

As Clark wiped away the last cookie crumbs before departing, he realized that he truly had no right to be afraid. Bruce, in the end, was really never that scary.

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><p><em>My ultimate mission as a father is to never leave my son without his father.<em>

-Bruce Wayne


End file.
